By default the Component Builder shows the most common Joyo kanji components (ie, components which are themselves Joyo kanji, or which are used in at least 3 other Joyo kanji). Select an alternative set of components below.

Most common Joyo kanji componentsStandard radicals (and their variants)All components and radicals

The Joy o' Kanji Essays

Welcome to Joy o’ Kanji, which will enable you to discover the joy of kanji! Below you’ll find introductions to detailed essays covering every aspect of each Jōyō kanji. Through loads of sample sentences and images containing the character in question, the essays give you the real-world experience you need so you can master kanji. You can download the essays in PDF form. After reading them, you can play games and use flashcards to work with the vocabulary and sentences from the essay.

If a Joy o' Kanji essay is available for a kanji, you will see this badge next to it in search results.

You can also find all kanji with essays available using the special search keyword jokessay:true, and if you know the Joy o' Kanji ID (the number under the kanji in the display below), you can use the special keyword jok:1009.

Unfortunately that feature is not accessible here. Please contact support if you have any questions.

More info about Joy o' Kanji

Joy o' Kanji is a site for true kanji enthusiasts. The brainchild of professional writer and
Japanophile Eve Kushner, Joy o' Kanji provides detailed essays on the etymology, usage and quirks of the Jōyō
kanji.
Once every week or so Joy o' Kanji produces a new essay featuring a single kanji. Reading such an in-depth essay
is a fantastic way to cement a kanji fully in your mind. The name 'Joy o' Kanji' itself is a clever pun on 'Jōyō kanji'.

This page provides a synopsis of all 375 kanji that have so far been featured by Joy o' Kanji. Each section provides links to a kanji's details page on Kanshudo for more information, as well as the ability to purchase and download a full essay (), study the lesson content (), play entertaining study games (), or view the kanji's details on Kanshudo ().

Create Flashcards for the kanji to study with Kanshudo's spaced repetition flashcard
system

View your current Kanji Mastery level for each kanji, as well as a quick
summary of readings and meanings

Download the kanji with readings and meanings for study offline or in another flashcard program

Kanshudo also features synopses of Joy o' Kanji's 'radical notes', free essays on each
of the 214 standard radicals. To find out more visit our radicals page.
For more information on Joy o' Kanji, visit the Joy o' Kanji website ⇗.

Find out how to talk about small, hand-propelled boats, and learn about Japanese boats across the ages, from dugout canoes to washtub boats to small straw boats that play a key role during Bon. See why a book about a retiree unnerved Japan, and learn about a famous story in which a man delights in being arrested. Also learn a boat-related expression for traditional rivals.

Learn to say all of the following: “He was paid well for the work,” “The lawyer’s fee was very high,” “He was too proud to accept any reward,” and “The enemy fired back at us.” Find out how the Japanese talk about nonmonetary rewards, unpaid work, executive pay, and (rather randomly) heckling. Also learn about how housecalls are still a thing in Japan.

Find out how two ancient Chinese brothers influenced current Japanese terms for “uncle” and “aunt,” lending them amazing specificity (though the terms don’t distinguish actual relatives from those close to the family). Decide whether 叔 has an inherent gender. Learn what to call a woman if you want to annoy her. And see why a type of fish is named “old man.”

After a full school day, many Japanese kids head to "cram school" for intensive nighttime tutoring. In this essay, a variety of people chime in about why the Japanese do this, how it profoundly helps and hurts students, how it affects public education and society at large, and more. Copious comments from a former cram school head provide insights and a great language immersion.

This kanji mainly pops up in male names, such as those of several authors (e.g., a prolific poet who translates Peanuts comic strips!), an astrophysicist, manga characters, and a prime minister. Learn to say, "He was a precocious child when he was little, but he grew up to be an ordinary adult." Also see what the Japanese think of geniuses and find out how one mom produced four.

If you always think of a month as having 4 weeks, it'll blow your mind to conceive of it as having 3 parts. Learn how 旬 came to represent not only "10-day period" but also "season (for crab, strawberries, etc.)." See how restaurants use 旬 in coinages to convey that they're serving seasonal foods. Also learn about an innovative collaboration between a chef and a drug company!

Find out about a kanji that means "to obey" but has alcohol at its heart! Learn to say "You should follow school regulations," "The Japanese are a law-abiding people," "Noncompliance will not be permitted," and "I feel no need to abide by the law as long as nobody is watching me." Also see how 遵 relates to 順, and learn terms for "civil disobedience" and "nonconformist."

Though 緒 looks simple, its yomi and meanings constantly shift in fascinating ways. It means what you see above, plus “clue,” and is associated with “together” and “secret.” Learn to say all this: “Just between you and me, he is a liar.” “To know someone, travel with him for a week.” “Space science is still in its infancy.” “She told me in confidence.” “I don’t mix business with pleasure.”

From autobiographies to mystery novels to epic poems, stories take many forms. But all involve narration and description, and 叙 drives both. Learn to say, "I will describe the incident as it happened.” Find out about inverted descriptions and inverted mysteries, as well as a "Gulf War novel." Also discover two manga artists, including one who created a Fred Flintstone look-alike.

Learn to read signs about slowing down, and discover who the target audience is. Find out how to say, “She gradually became arrogant,” “I was nervous at first but gradually relaxed,” “The city plan is gradually getting under way,” and “The number of people who prefer to marry late is gradually increasing.” Learn a word that can mean both “quickly” and “slowly,” prompting confusion!

The Kanshudo kanji usefulness rating shows you how useful a kanji is for you to learn.

has a Kanshudo usefulness of , which means it is among the most useful kanji in Japanese.

is one of the 138 kana characters, denoted with a usefulness rating of K. The kana are the most useful characters in Japanese, and we recommend you thoroughly learn all kana before progressing to kanji.

All kanji in our system are rated from 1-8, where 1 is the most useful.
The 2136 Jōyō kanji have usefulness levels from 1 to 5, and are denoted with badges like this: